There's Magic in Believing
by Storywriter55
Summary: It's the holiday season and the Caffreys are reminded of the true spirit of Christmas. Part of the Milestones series (10.8 years)
1. Chapter 1

**There's Magic in Believing**

 **Chapter 1**

'Hope! Dinner!' Neal called out.

'What is she doing up there, anyway?' he asked Sara, who was busy setting the table.

'She and Olivia are _supposed_ to be practicing for the school play tryouts' she replied. 'But I heard an awful lot of giggling earlier.'

'Liam!' Neal said, addressing his son who sat curled up on the couch in the family room. 'That's enough TV for today, buddy. Come on, dinner's ready.'

'Awww, but Daddy, it's not over yet' the five-and-a-half year-old whined.

'If you get your homework done and you finish your chores, you can watch the end of your show before you go to bed' Sara replied, walking over to physically turn off the television set and coax him into the kitchen.

'Not carrots!' the child complained as he looked over to where Neal had begun to dish out the plates.

'HOPE!' Neal shouted as Sara gave him the evil eye.

'I'll go get her' she said, moving towards the stairs.

She was halfway up the staircase when Hope and Olivia Mason came charging down past her, giggling madly, like the typical ten-year-olds that they were.

'Finally! I thought we were going to have to bring dinner up to you' Sara said, ruffling her daughter's hair as she whizzed by her on the staircase.

'Did you call your mom to let her know you were staying for dinner?' Sara asked Olivia as the group settled in to eat.

'Yes, she said to call her when I'm ready to come home' the child replied.

Neal piled on some basmati rice onto each of the plates, followed by some curry chicken and some carrots. 'I hope this isn't too spicy for you, Olivia' he commented.

'I like spicy' she said in response. 'My mom always says I should have been born into an Indian family.'

Sara chuckled and took her plate from Neal's outstretched hand. 'So, when are the tryouts?' she asked.

'Next week' Hope said her blue eyes shining brightly. 'Mrs. Winters says the role of the shoemaker can go to either a boy _or_ a girl.'

'So is that the role you're both trying out for?' Sara asked.

'Yup. We're doing a performance in the afternoon for the rest of the school and another one at night for the parents' Hope explained, her face flushed with excitement.

'May the best man win!' Olivia declared solemnly as they clinked their milk glasses and Hope nodded in agreement.

Sara and Neal exchanged amused smiles. Those two were joined at the hip and had been since the age of two; surely, a little friendly competition would never threaten to their break up their solid friendship.

'Am _I_ going to the play, Mommy?' Liam asked, his green eyes bright with excitement.

'Of course you are, sweetie' Sara replied, smiling at her son. 'We're _all_ going, even Uncle Mozzie and Uncle Peter and Aunt Elizabeth are coming. But it's not until the last day of school before the Christmas holidays.'

'Isn't your class singing a song at the concert?' Neal inquired as Liam shrugged as if it was news to him.

'Yes you are, Liam. Remember, you're singing 'Silent Night' his sister reminded him.

Liam cheered and clapped and Neal pointed to his plate, encouraging him to take a bite.

'How many sleeps before Santa comes, Daddy?' the little boy asked, looking up at his dad and ignoring his plate, full of food.

Hope scoffed and giggled and Sara gave her daughter a look of reprimand while Neal walked over to the refrigerator and brought back the calendar on which Liam had been counting down the days until Christmas since early December.

'You tell me' Neal said as he placed the calendar in front of his son.

Liam put his finger on the calendar, unsure where to begin. 'This is today' Neal pointed. 'And this is Christmas so how many days are left?'

Liam seemed confused and Neal got him started, counting the days remaining, with Liam faltering when he got to fifteen.

'Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen' Neal coaxed as Sara watched with interest.

'Eighteen days!' Neal declared.

'Awww, that's way too many!' the child whined, setting his elbows on the table and placing his chin on his hands in an exaggerated look of disappointment.

'Well, Santa needs time to get ready. He has a lot to do before Christmas' Neal reminded him, patting his son on the back. 'Now come on, eat your dinner.'

'Mo-o-o-m…' Hope said, kicking her mom under the table and giving her a knowing look, which Sara chose to ignore.

Instead, Sara turned her attention to the pretty blonde ten-year-old who was a regular visitor to their home. 'So, how are things over at your house? Is your mom getting ready for Christmas?'

'Yeah, my grandma is coming to visit and she's really excited' Olivia replied.

Neal and Sara exchanged sad glances; there would be no grandparents in the Caffrey home this Christmas - not official ones, anyway. As honorary grandmother, June had always been there for the kids and had played the all-important role of matriarch but the holidays were always a stark reminder that Sara's parents were long gone and Neal… well, he had no interest in having his mom back in his life.

'My dad says that TV show might be coming to film on our street for the house decorating contest' Olivia continued.

'What?' Neal replied, instantly perking up.

The house decorating contest was the highlight of the holiday season in their quiet little hamlet. Ever since the Caffreys had moved to White Plains nine years earlier, Neal had been an eager participant and he was still riding high from his victories from the last two years running; a feat he bragged about to anyone who would listen.

'You mean _Home for the Holidays_?' he asked as Sara stared ahead in despair.

On the first of December of every year, the normally civilized, well mannered men of Meadowbrook Street morphed into frenzied competitors as the annual contest was launched and although the men on the quiet street could hardly contain their glee, their wives were considerably less enthusiastic about the event. For one month during the year, their husbands did all they could to outdo each other and come up with the biggest and brightest (some might argue gaudiest) Christmas display and the contest seemed to dominate every conversation on the quiet street for weeks on end. The climax of the competition was the holiday block party which was held just days before Christmas, where the winner was crowned and inherited bragging rights until they did it all over again the next year.

What had begun as a friendly incentive to get the street looking festive for the holidays had evolved into a rather unhealthy surge of testosterone as the men reverted to caveman behaviour in order to win first prize which, astonishingly, was nothing more than a six inch high trophy of Santa which had been purchased twenty years earlier at the local Dollar Store. Second and third place prizes were also awarded and usually consisted of gift certificates, worth much more that the trophy - yet significantly less coveted by the participants.

The contest was fiercely disputed and for an ambitious, competitive guy like Neal Caffrey, it didn't take much more than the whiff of such a competition to get him all pumped up. He and Olivia's dad, Jeff Mason, were the undisputed front-runners, having racked up eight of the last ten titles between the two of them and, despite their friendship, they competed fiercely for the distinction of best decorated house every time the holiday season came around.

'Yeah' Olivia continued. 'My dad said we're on the short list to be on the show and he said there's a cash prize too. I think he said two thousand dollars.'

Neal's demeanour changed, his eyes growing excited. For the past couple of years, the local television station had been highlighting a different neighbourhood every holiday season and if their street had been short-listed for the honour, he sure as hell wanted to be a part of it.

'What's a short list?' Hope asked.

'It means that our street is one of just a couple of streets they're looking at for the contest' Sara replied with a sigh of discouragement.

With the level of testosterone on the street already at a record high during the month of December, she shuddered to think what might happen if there was additional incentive for the contest participants to try to outdo one another.

'Are you going to participate, Daddy?' Hope asked.

'Of course, honey. I participate _every_ year' Neal replied with a wide grin, the wheels already turning.

Sara sighed and returned to her meal, muttering under her breath.

WCWCWC

Once Liam was tucked in for the night, Neal made his way down the hall to his daughter's room. He found her lying on her stomach, legs swinging as she read a book.

'Honey, five more minutes before lights out' he said, stepping in and sitting on the edge of her bed.

Hope put down her book and looked up at her dad; she obviously had something on her mind.

'Daddy, I really want to play the role of the shoemaker in the play' Hope said, her face serious. 'But so does Olivia.'

'Well, only one of you can get the main role' Neal reminded her. 'Isn't that a boy's part, though?'

'Mrs. Winters said a boy _or_ a girl could play the shoemaker… whoever gives the best performance… and I know Olivia really wants it. But so do I.'

'Competing with a friend isn't easy' Neal admitted, his mind wandering to the house decorating contest. 'But it's okay to get excited if you get it, you just need to be sensitive to what Olivia might be feeling and hopefully, she'll do the same for you if _she_ gets the role.'

'I think I'm better than she is' Hope confided, her voice low.

Neal smiled. 'Well, it's important to have confidence in yourself… as long as you don't get a swelled head.'

'A swelled head?' Hope repeated, images of somebody with a large noggin dancing in her head.

'You know, become arrogant… insensitive' Neal replied, speaking the words with a straight face, despite his previous, intimate relationship with vanity and smugness.

Hope nodded in understanding.

'Honey, there's something else I need to talk to you about. All those knowing looks whenever Liam mentions Santa…'

'But Daddy, he's almost six years old. Don't you think it's time he knows the truth?' she asked, looking very stern.

'No, I don't. I think as long as Liam believes in Santa Claus, we should let him. When he's old enough, he'll figure it out by himself. That's what happened with you.'

Hope rolled her eyes; believing in Santa was so childish, beneath the dignity of a soon to be eleven-year-old like herself.

'Don't you remember how excited you used to get about Santa?' Neal asked her with a winsome smile. 'You were almost seven years old by the time you stopped believing. Do you really want to be responsible for ruining Christmas for your little brother?'

Hope frowned; she was at an age where she thought she knew it all. She could feel Neal's eyes boring into her, waiting for an answer and she shrugged, pouting.

'I don't know…'

'Well, I do. Stop it, all right. Let your little brother enjoy the magic of Christmas. Now, go brush your teeth. It's time for you to go to sleep.'

Neal made his way downstairs, finding Sara in the kitchen, rummaging through the cupboards and setting out some baking ingredients on the counter.

'Did he finally settle?' she asked, looking up.

'Sort of…' Neal replied, grabbing an apple from the bowl of fruit on the kitchen table and taking a large bite.

'It's going to be a long three weeks if he keeps this up' Sara said as she pulled out some flour and sugar from the cupboard and set them down on the counter. 'You know, I don't remember him being this excited about Santa last year.'

'Are you kidding?' Neal said. 'Don't you remember how he came into our bed at 6:00 every morning for the last two weeks, asking us if it was Christmas yet?'

'Oh yeah…' Sara replied as the memory came flooding back. 'And what's with Hope, anyway? I'm about ready to throttle her!'

'It's okay. I just had a little talk with her and told her to cool it' Neal said, taking a seat at the table. 'After all, this might be the last year Liam believes in Santa.'

'It just seems so mean spirited of her' Sara commented, turning to face her husband. 'Why would she want to ruin it for her little brother?'

'Oh, honey, she doesn't want to ruin it for him; she's just at that age where she thinks she knows everything and she wants the whole world to know it.'

Neal got to his feet and meandered out to the front hall where he grabbed for his warm winter coat and slipped on his boots as Sara craned her neck, following him with her eyes.

'Where are you going? It's 9:00' she stated.

'I'm just going to pop in and talk to Jeff about the contest for a minute' Neal explained. 'See what he knows.'

'You're kidding! Neal, we're seeing them on Saturday night for dinner. What's the rush?' Sara asked, frowning.

'I won't be long' he replied with his best conman grin.

'But I thought you were making those cookies for Hope's class!' she reminded him, pointing to the ingredients she'd laid out for him and giving him a decisive glare.

He shrugged and opened the door to let himself out. 'I will' he said, blowing her a kiss goodby. 'I'll do it when I get back.'

WCWCWC

It was past 11:30 by the time Neal finally made it to bed and Sara stirred as he slipped in behind her, arms instantly reaching out for a cuddle as he sighed contentedly.

'Seriously Caffrey? It's the middle of the night' she complained, her voice sleepy.

'First of all, it's not even midnight and secondly… it's been a week and a half' Neal reminded her, letting his hand linger up and down her thigh in an effort to telegraph his intentions.

'Well, if you came to bed at a decent hour, I might be a little more… interested' she moaned, shifting her hips back in an effort to push him away.

He continued to run his hand languidly up and down her leg, moving to cup her butt cheeks and squeezing as he let out a soft moan of wanton lust, waiting - and praying - for the desired response. Sara chose to ignore him and in the awkward silence that followed, Neal pondered his next move.

'You smell good, babe' he murmured, trying to move things along.

There was more of the uncomfortable silence as he brought his lips to the crook of Sara's neck, nuzzling her and continuing to give it his best shot.

'Did you make the cookies?' she asked, breaking the silence.

'I can do it in the morning' he whispered, his mouth moving down the middle of her back.

'Neaaaal!' she complained, pulling away. 'Hope's class is having that pot luck and you _promised_ you'd make shortbread cookies.'

'And I will. Hope will have her cookies… I promise' Neal moaned, still hopeful for a change of heart on his wife's part. 'What about me? Don't I get a little treat? I've been a _very_ good boy.'

Apparently, that was up for debate, considering the icy silence that followed.

Neal sighed in response to the snub. 'Sara… Come on, babe. I'm… _badly_ in need here' he cooed, bringing his arms tighter around her waist and rutting up against her suggestively.

She could smell the lingering scent of beer on him despite the fact his breath was minty fresh - no doubt he'd brushed his teeth, hoping to up his chances of getting some 'Caffrey lovin'.

'Well, you should have thought about that while you were over at Jeff's, sipping beer instead of making cookies for your daughter's pot luck' she declared, obviously miffed.

Neal grumbled in reply and flipped onto his back. It appeared he wasn't going to be getting anywhere, anytime soon. He lay there pouting, Sara's breathing slowly evening out as he fumed in the dark room. With his advances rebuffed, his mind wandered back to the house decorating contest and the unique opportunity he had of taking the title for a third year in a row. No one had ever gone three in a row in the history of the competition and he smiled to himself in the darkened bedroom as he imagined being the first to accomplish the feat.

According to Jeff, they would know by the weekend if their street had been selected as the site for this year's televised contest. The two thousand dollar prize would be a nice bonus but bragging rights were even more important and Neal realized he would need to further beef up the already impressive plan he'd been working on for the past month. Maybe Mozzie would give him a hand; he was always good at ferreting out unique, vintage decorations and everybody knew vintage was 'in' these days.

He lay in bed, mentally going over the elaborate plan he'd developed, all nine of Santa's reindeer pulling the old man in his sleigh with Rudolph front and centre, a dozen or so brightly coloured wreaths and an impressive array of lights and various other Christmas paraphernalia. This year, he was adding a row of oversized gingerbread men all along the front of the house and there was the Frosty scene complete with the characters from the animated show he'd picked up at a Christmas specialty shop when they'd visited the Muskokas for their summer vacation.

Maybe Peter would come over on the weekend and give him a hand with putting up some of the stuff - there was too much for him to do on his own considering that every year, he added more and more to his now extensive collection.

His last thoughts before falling asleep were of those cookies he had to make first thing in the morning and when he finally _did_ nod off, he dreamed of gingerbread men and little toy soldiers.

WCWCWC

Neal made it home first and was already halfway through dinner preparations when he heard the front door open and the unmistakeable voices of his wife and children returning to the nest after a long day. Sara had picked up both of the kids from school and in preparation for their arrival, he'd been putting together one of her favourite meals - all in the hopes of being forgiven for his shortcomings from the night before.

'Mmmm. Does my nose deceive me?' Sara called out from the front of the house. 'It smells like shrimp risotto in here!'

Neal was smiling, self-satisfied, when Liam came running in. 'Yuck!' he complained with a grimace. 'I _hate_ shrimp!'

'Hi buddy' Neal replied, leaning down to catch him on the fly as he ran by in his stocking feet. 'Don't worry, I made chicken for you guys.'

Liam kissed and hugged his dad before squirming to be let down and he raced over to the family room, turning on the television for his daily dose of entertainment.

'Not too loud!' Sara chastised as she made her appearance, sniffing at what Neal was making.

'Risotto… on a week night' she commented as she kissed her husband hello. 'You really are hoping to be forgiven, aren't you?'

Hope was the last to come into the kitchen, dragging her backpack and pulling out an empty tupperware container which she handed to her dad.

'Daddy, Mrs. Winters said these were the absolute best shortbread cookies she's ever tasted' she announced.

Neal glanced over at Sara, giving her a smug smile. 'Is that right?' he said, gloating.

'She wants to know if you could make another batch for our Christmas lunch' Hope continued, emptying out her school bag on the kitchen table.

Sara giggled; it seemed that Neal was a victim of his own success.

'Sure' he mumbled. 'Hey, hey, hey, not on the table. We're having dinner in twenty minutes' he said, returning to tend to the capricious dish on the stovetop.

'Daddy, can I go see Santa this weekend?' Liam asked from the nearby family room.

Neal gave Hope a warning glance as she giggled - unbeknownst to Liam who was half listening to whatever gibberish was playing television.

'Buddy, I don't think Santa's coming to town for another week or so' Neal explained.

'Yeah, Liam. Remember? Santa lives in the North Pole' Hope said, her voice full of sarcasm. 'If you believe that!'

'Hope!' Sara said sternly, giving her the evil eye. 'Don't you have some homework to do before dinner.'

Hope glared at her mom, her thick wavy hair bouncing as she stomped emphatically towards the staircase. 'You two are just bad parents who lie to their children' she declared as she disappeared upstairs.

Liam didn't pay her any mind but Neal and Sara stood there with their mouths hanging open, liars that they were.

WCWCWC

'A little higher' Neal called out from the street. 'No, that's _too_ high!'

Peter stood atop the stepladder, his arms extended as he held up a row of brightly coloured lights and sighed; Neal was a perfectionist in all things, not the least of which was this asinine house decorating contest he insisted on participating in every year.

'Peter, you're not even trying' Neal complained as he walked closer to the house.

'Well, you come up here and do it and _I'll_ check from the street' Peter suggested, taking a step down.

'No, you don't have the same… discriminating eye' Neal replied, only half joking.

Peter glared back at him; he was giving up his Saturday to help Neal in his obsessive quest to win the title for a third year in a row and he didn't appreciate his best friend being so critical of his efforts.

'It's time for lunch, anyway' Neal said as he reached out to take Peter's arm - a gesture Peter seemed to take umbrage to. 'Come on, I'll make you some nice clam chowder to warm you up.'

'Hey Neal!' they heard, coming from the street.

'Jeff!' Neal replied. 'Any news?'

'Yeah, we're in' the man declared, a huge smile on his face.

'All right!' Neal replied just as excited as his friend and neighbour. 'Game on!'

'So, are we still on for dinner tonight?' Jeff asked.

'Yeah, of course. Come by around six, I'm making my world famous linguine with clam sauce' Neal countered.

'I've got a nice bottle of white chilling in the fridge' the man shouted from the street.

'Perfect! We'll see you then' Neal called out before leading Peter into the house.

'Pretty friendly rivalry you've got there' Peter commented as he followed Neal inside.

Neal gave him an eyebrow wag before replying. 'Only on the surface!'

WCWCWC

Having Donna and Jeff Mason over for dinner was a regular thing. Ever since the girls had struck up a friendship, it had become natural to exchange favours: babysitting, sleepovers for the girls, borrowing power tools, shovelling each other's driveways or mowing each other's lawn if one or the other was away. Of all the neighbours on the street, the Caffreys and the Masons had the most in common. They were about the same age and their daughters were two months apart, both professional couples although Donna worked from home in sales. They enjoyed each others' company and there was always a lively discussion whenever they shared a meal. Of course, around the time of year St. Nick made an appearance, things always got a little more strained between Jeff and Neal but both were able to put a good face on things and their wives were always there to keep the mood light if things got a little too tense.

The girls were bunking together up in Hope's room, their laughter echoing through the house and Liam had been sound asleep for the past hour; having dinner a little later was a small price to pay to have a meal amongst adults, without interruptions.

'Neal, that was amazing' Donna said as she swallowed her last bite of pasta.

'Well, I hope you saved room for dessert. I made us an almond torte' Neal said as he got to his feet and started collecting the empty plates.

Loud giggling was heard from upstairs and Donna checked her watch; it was 10:00, time for the girls to hunker down and go to sleep.

'I think that's enough giggling for tonight' Sara said as she got to her feet.

'It's okay, Sara. You stay and chat. I'll go check on them' Jeff offered.

The women moved to the living room and Neal insisted on getting coffee and serving dessert. By the time Jeff returned ten minutes later, calm had resumed and giggling appeared to have ceased for the night.

'You've got quite the touch' Neal said handing Jeff a cup of coffee.

'I just told them that if they didn't shut it down for the night, there would be no more sleepovers.'

'That'll do it' Sara commented. 'Those two are joined at the hip.'

'They seem to be handling this whole competition thing pretty well' Donna said, looking at the two men.

The insinuation was clear enough - although both Neal and Jeff chose to ignore the comment; if the girls could compete for the coveted role in the school play, surely the two of them could learn to compete without animosity.

Jeff cleared his throat, uneasy about the subject. 'Do you have any new pieces, Neal?' he asked.

'Yeah, I've got a couple of new ones. Did you want to see?' Neal asked.

'Sure, I'd love to' Jeff said as the men headed down to the studio to investigate.

It didn't take long after the men had disappeared for the two women to address the elephant in the room.

'Too bad they can't be as reasonable as the girls are' Donna commented once they were alone.

'Tell me about it, this whole thing seems to have ratcheted up a notch now that the competition is going to air on television. Neal is spending every single minute looking for new stuff to put up in the front yard. Frankly… it's embarrassing.'

Donna chuckled. 'Look, at least we know what they're doing. I prefer it to having them out every night doing God knows what.'

'Who's hosting this year, anyway?' Sara asked, referring to the holiday party where the winner was always revealed.

'Myrtle and Charlie' Donna replied.

'Great!' Sara said sarcastically. 'I guess that means more of Myrtle's delicious fruit cake.'

'Ugh!' Donna moaned. 'Well, I guess we'll just have to make sure to bring a lot of booze to help us stomach it.'

'You know, I always loved Christmas when I was a little girl' Sara said, growing nostalgic.

Technically, it was true; before Emily had run away, they'd had wonderful Christmases but after she'd left, there had been a cloak of doom and sadness on the Ellis home and the holiday spirit had never returned.

'But this contest drives me crazy' she continued. 'What is it with men and any kind of competition?'

Donna shrugged. 'I don't know… and then we get the hydro bill in January!'

'Exactly' Sara agreed. 'The December bill is almost as much as the other eleven months of the year put together.'

'Oh, here we go with the whole hydro argument!' Jeff said as the men reappeared. 'No Christmas spirit, these two, Neal.'

Neal nodded; the hydro bill was a small price to pay for the Christmas spirit that the brightly decorated houses on the street contributed to creating. As word got out, an increasing number of families from all over White Plains made their way to their neighbourhood in order to admire the homeowners' handiwork, the men's pride and joy.

The evening wound down without incident - no sign whatsoever of the drama that lay ahead.

WCWCWC

'So, is Jeff interested in buying any of your new pieces?' Sara asked as they finished tidying up.

'Yeah, if I can get it finished by Christmas, he wants to give Donna the one of Liam building a sand castle - you know, the one from the cottage.'

Sara nodded; that was indeed a nice piece and, to be honest, she'd sort of had an eye on it for display in their own family room. But if Neal could sell it and make a few bucks, so be it. There would be plenty of other creations they could keep for themselves.

'You know, it actually crossed my mind he might be interested in it just to keep me busy so I won't focus so much on the house decorating…' Neal mused as he turned to face his wife.

'Neal!' Sara said. 'Now, don't you think you're exaggerating… just a little?'

'What? This is serious stuff, you know. I wouldn't put it past him.'

'Poor little Neal Caffrey…' Sara said playfully as she ran her hand up his chest. 'You are such a decorating genius that the neighbours have to pretend to want to buy your art to keep you from decorating your front yard.'

Neal frowned, unamused. 'Not cool… now, you're just making fun of me' he pouted.

'Awww' Sara said, bringing her lips to his in the hopes of being forgiven. 'How about I give you that little treat you were wanting the other night. Would that make you feel better?'

Neal eyed her up and down suspiciously; he didn't want a mercy roll in the hay.

'That depends' he pouted exaggeratedly, looking away. 'I don't want your pity…'

'Oh no?' Sara asked, pulling him along with her towards the staircase. 'I thought you'd take it any way you can get it' she teased.

'Sara Ellis!' he said, with mock annoyance. 'That's a terrible thing to say to the man who loves you. I'm not some… stud who's here strictly for your sexual pleasure.'

'That's _exactly_ what you are, Caffrey!' she replied provocatively as she took off for the stairs with Neal in hot pursuit, both of them giggling like a couple of teenagers.

Neal checked on the kids, pulling their doors closed behind him before returning to their bedroom, ready for action.

'What are _those_ doing out?' he asked, spying his plan for the front yard laid out on the bed.

'I don't know' Sara said, slipping out of her clothes. 'I assumed you left them out.'

'No' Neal said, his face tightening. 'They were in the closet.'

He looked around the bedroom suspiciously as if a culprit was going to pop out from under the bed. Jeff had been upstairs, checking on the girls. Had he been snooping around to see what Neal had planned for the house decorating contest?

Suddenly, the whole friendly competition thing wasn't feeling so _friendly_ after all.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Hope Ellis-Caffrey wasn't a particularly high strung child. She rolled with the punches - most of the time. She enjoyed both school _and_ recess, the balance of the two very important in life, and she was well-liked and appreciated by those around her, both family and friends.

Tuesday morning, however, found the young girl with a persistent knot in her stomach and feeling as nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. It was the day of the audition for the school play and Hope was a wreck. _The Sole of Christmas_ was an allegory of the importance of honesty and the joy of giving but Hope wasn't feeling in a very giving mood.

She wanted the main role.

Bad.

Although Mrs. Winters had explained that everyone with an interest would be guaranteed _some_ part in the play, Hope had no interest in playing Elf # 6. The previous year, Olivia had snagged the role of Mary in the manger scene and Hope had been relegated to the back of the pack - the donkey of all things - and it still irked her whenever she thought about it.

The dialogue in and of itself wasn't the issue; Hope had amazing recall (thanks to her uncle Mozzie who had taught her the tricks of the trade for perfect recall). No, the issue was her facial expressions and her wooden tone of voice and… well, let's face it, Hope's delivery was rather… lacklustre for lack of a better word.

Olivia, on the other hand, for all her struggles with the dialogue, showed an ability to totally inhabit to the character of the shoemaker, embodying his facial expressions whether it was surprise, dismay or any of the other emotion the story called for. To be honest, Hope was a little envious of her friend's ability to express emotions at the drop of a hat. Although she had many of her dad's wonderful qualities, she hadn't inherited the Caffrey gene that enabled you to step into anyone's shoes at any given time and really sell it.

'All right, Hope. You're up!' Mrs. Winters called out as the youngster got up on rubbery legs and walked to the front of the room.

WCWCWC

'What's wrong, sweet pea? I made chocolate pudding just for you' Neal said as they wrapped up dinner.

'I guess I'm just not in a chocolate pudding kind of mood' she replied, pushing her bowl away.

Neal looked over at his wife with a puzzled look.

'The audition didn't go so well, honey?' Sara asked as she ran her hand through her daughter's thick wavy hair.

The audition! Damn it! Neal had been so wrapped up in getting through the day at work so he could come home to work on his pet project that he'd totally forgotten the thing that was uppermost in his little girl's mind. He was a wretched father… unworthy of the title.

Hope sniffled as genuine emotions bubbled to the surface. 'Olivia was better than me but she kept flubbing her lines. I'm a lot better at remembering dialogue than she is.'

Liam sat nearby, unperturbed, his attention fully focussed on getting to the bottom of his bowl so he could start begging for seconds.

'How could she have been better than you if she kept forgetting her lines?' Neal asked, the competitive streak in him alive and well.

'Because, she acts just like the shoemaker… she _becomes_ the shoemaker. And even when she forgets her lines, she makes it look… natural.'

'So, is it a… done deal?' Sara asked. 'Did Mrs. Winters definitely say Olivia was getting the part?'

Hope nodded solemnly, unwilling to say the words out loud. She sniffled and stood. 'May I go to my room please?' she said.

'Of course, sweetheart' Sara said, at a loss for words.

'I don't think I've ever heard her _ask_ to go to her room before' Neal said with a look of consternation.

'Daddy, when are we going to see Santa?' Liam piped up, oblivious to the look of concern on his parents' faces.

'Soon, buddy, soon' Neal said, ruffling his hair and getting to his feet to start clearing the table.

'It happens, Neal. Things don't always go your way in life, the kids have to learn to roll with the punches, they need to learn to lose gracefully' Sara said.

Neal frowned. Losing gracefully? Now, there was an oxymoron if he'd ever heard one - at least in the Caffrey lexicon. Those two words were mutually exclusive; Neal had lived his whole life believing there was always another way to come out on top.

'I'll go up and —'

'No honey, let her be. She needs to lick her wounds alone for a while. She'll come around' Sara advised as Neal fretted.

He hated to see his kids suffering in any way; all he wanted was to make everything better for his little girl. In this case, however, that seemed easier said than done.

WCWCWC

Neal's mind was consumed twenty-four seven by thoughts of the annual house decorating contest. When he wasn't busy brushing up on his elaborate plan, he was online looking for new and exciting ideas or he was futzing around the front yard, adding a new piece to his eclectic collection of decorations. Even in his sleep, his dreams were dominated by oversize Santas and elves and giant peppermint candies that lit up the night.

The daily drive home was the perfect opportunity to scrutinize each house on the block and see if any new additions had been made to the displays in the last twenty-four hours. The judging was one week away - one week to make magic happen in his front yard. Every homeowner on the street made _some_ kind of effort to decorate although some homes paled in comparison to the likes of his and Jeff Mason's masterpieces. There was Charlie Stevens, the Caffreys' next door neighbour who was getting a little long in the tooth and had been pulling back more and more as the years passed and Steve Jennings, who'd been putting out the same old blow up of Santa and Frosty for the last five years running, a minimal effort at best. And then, there was Jim Sterling from across the street; he always made a valiant effort and had even won one year, but _that_ , Neal reflected as he glanced over at the Sterling place, wasn't going to happen this year.

Neal drove down the street slowly, scrutinizing each and every house, slowing as he passed the Masons' place; it seemed that Jeff had several new additions every single day. He had to admit Jeff had a lot of creative talent for an IT guy, great use of colours and just the right balance as far as the larger, more dominating features of his display. Neal grumbled as he drove by; as things stood, even he would be hard pressed _not_ to hand over the coveted trophy to his friend and rival. Truth was, the Mason place was looking great. He drove on, arriving at his own house and noticing that one of the strings of lights had drooped - again - making the whole trim of the house look lopsided; he'd definitely have to see to that - pronto!

He pulled into the driveway, admiring his reindeer display - it was the dominating feature of the front yard and his pride and joy. He'd put it out for the past three years and it had served him well. Up front and centre, was the effervescent Rudolph with his lit-up nose and his feet hovering slightly off the ground, ready for take-off. He smiled to himself, pleased at what he saw. Just a few more additions and he would definitely be healthy competition for Jeff Mason.

His phone rang and he activated the bluetooth.

'Hey Moz!' he called out, sounding cheerful.

'You still at work?' the older man asked.

'No, I'm just driving up to the house and admiring my Rudolph' Neal said, turning off the car engine.

'Well, I got a lead on that trio of elves we saw online the other night' Mozzie announced with glee.

'You're kidding!' Neal replied, sounding like an excited five-year-old. 'Where?'

'It's outside of the city but if you want, we could drive up on Saturday and pick it up. I can get us a truck.'

'Yeah, I'm definitely in' Neal enthused, smiling broadly.

'And they had this huge blowup snow globe with real snow blowing around inside.'

'Oh yeah?' Neal replied, his eyes twinkling. 'Is this… on the up and up?' he added tentatively, always a good question when Mozzie was involved in any kind of transaction.

Mozzie hesitated. 'Yeah… pretty well.'

Neal rolled his eyes; the last thing he wanted was to get arrested a couple of weeks before Christmas for dealing in contraband Christmas paraphernalia.

'All right, call me later and let me know the details' he said as he stepped out of the car.

He made his way into the house, immediately noticing the fragrant aroma of his homemade lasagna floating in the air - grabbing something from the freezer was always a favourite go-to move of Sara's whenever she made it home before him.

'Hey' he called out, dusting off his coat and removing his boots.

'Daddy, Daddy!' Liam called out, running to meet him.

Liam's welcome home greeting was usually a lot more sedate, more like a grunt - especially when his favourite TV show was on.

Happily surprised at the warm welcome, Neal scooped his son up into his arms, hugging him tightly.

'Hey buddy! How was your day?'

'Guess what, Daddy? Santa is coming to the community centre on Saturday!' the little boy exclaimed with pure joy.

'Oh yeah?' Neal said as Sara came into view.

'The community association has _invited_ Santa to visit with the kids from the neighbourhood' she explained with a grin. 'And someone is very excited about it.'

'Can we go, Daddy? Can we go?' Liam asked, bobbing up and down in Neal's arms.

'Of course, we can go —' Neal stopped, recalling his conversation with Mozzie. 'You mean _this_ Saturday.'

Sara frowned. 'Of course, this Saturday. There are only two left before Christmas, Neal.'

'I just made arrangements to go pick up some stuff with Mozzie on Saturday' he said, setting the child down and watching his face melt into a frown.

'What?' Liam said, looking like his world had just fallen apart.

'Don't worry, buddy' Neal said reassuringly. 'What time is Santa coming?'

'From 2:00 to 4:00' Sara replied, giving him a nasty look.

'Oh, no problem!' Neal exclaimed reassuringly. 'Uncle Mozzie and I will do what we need to do and be back in plenty of time.'

And the irony was that, when he said it, he _really_ meant it.

WCWCWC

To say that the relationship between Hope and her best friend had become strained following the casting of _The Sole of Christmas_ would be somewhat of an understatement. Since she'd won the main role, Olivia had been busy running lines and Hope had been focussed on other things, namely helping her mom get her elf costume ready for the big night. She was disappointed, if not downright bitter, about the outcome and despite her mom's advice to try to let bygones be bygones, she hadn't yet been able to let go of the disappointment which had morphed into jealousy towards her best friend.

After dinner on Thursday night, everybody saw to their chores: Liam tidied up his toys in the family room, Hope did homework on the kitchen table and Neal and Sara were finishing up the dishes when the phone rang, interrupting the companionable silence in the Caffrey home.

'Hope! Olivia's on the phone' Neal said, as he held up the phone.

Hope scowled, her eyes going from her dad to her mom who was smiling at her expectantly; she knew how miserable Hope was, being on the outs with her best friend.

'Come on, honey' Sara murmured. 'Meet her halfway.'

Hope huffed and reluctantly stood to take the phone from her dad, her face tight as she spoke.

'Hello' she mumbled into the phone. 'I guess. Okay, come on over.'

'So?' Sara asked as the child hung up.

'She says she wants to tell me something and she asked if she could come over' Hope explained.

Neal and Sara exchanged hopeful looks; with any luck, the two friends might be on the verge of working things out.

Within minutes, the doorbell rang and Olivia stepped into the house, looking uncomfortable as she and Hope came face to face. Neal pretended to keep working in the kitchen while Sara took Liam up for his bath and the girls settled in the family room to chat. Before long, Olivia got to the point of her visit as Neal discretely eavesdropped on their conversation.

'Hope, I know you're upset about me getting the part but I wanted to make a suggestion' the blonde child said.

Neal observed the exchange out of the corner of his eye, as, to her credit, Hope patiently listened to her best friend.

'I talked to Mrs. Winters and I asked her if she would let us share the role.'

'What do you mean, share the role?' Hope asked, confused.

'Well, I'm having trouble learning my lines and you have an amazing memory so I was thinking… maybe you could help me learn my lines and I could help you with the other stuff and we could each do one of the two performances.'

'You would do that for me?' Hope asked, her face relaxing.

'Yeah, you're my best friend and besides, I don't think I'll be able to do it on my own.'

'Yes, you could' Neal heard Hope reply. 'You're a natural.'

'Well, I could help _you_ be a natural too if you help me with the dialogue.'

Hope's face erupted in a broad smile. 'Okay' she said, shyly.

Olivia stood and the next thing Neal knew, the girls were hugging.

If only life were always this simple, he thought.

WCWCWC

The theft took place sometime between midnight on Thursday and six in the morning on Friday. Neal knew this for a fact because the last thing he did before going to bed on Thursday night was glance out at his beloved front yard and the first thing he did when he got downstairs on Friday morning was to look out longingly at his masterpiece before heading into the kitchen to make coffee.

He did a number of double takes before it actually sunk in that there were indeed eight and not nine reindeer attached to Santa's sleigh. To Neal's absolute horror, it appeared that his beloved Rudolph had disappeared into thin air - or perhaps flown away - leaving his buddies and the big guy with the red suit behind. Neal stepped into his winter boots and put on his winter coat over his sleep attire and stepped out into the below freezing cold to investigate.

Snow fell gently as he made his way in the knee-high snowdrift to where the reindeer all stood at attention, seemingly lost without their red-nosed leader. Sure enough, there was an indent in the snow where hours before Rudolph had stood proudly, ready to lead Santa around the world on his magical sleigh. Neal could see a couple of sets of footprints leading away from the spot where the horrible crime had taken place, footprints which disappeared at the edge of the driveway where, ostensibly, the unwitting creature had been abducted, probably taken away in a waiting vehicle.

He stood in shock in the early morning dawn, completely stunned.

'Neal!' he heard Sara's voice call out from the front stoop.

'Honey, what are you doing out there in your pyjamas?' she asked as he turned back to look at her with a look of pure desolation on his face.

'We've been robbed' he said.

WCWCWC

Sara poured her husband a second cup of coffee, hoping to bring him back from the edge of despair.

'Honey, it's probably just some prank' she said, hand on his arm.

'It's him. I'm telling you, Sara. I know it is.'

'Neal, that's ridiculous. You think a grown, rational man would come to a neighbour's house in the middle of the night and steal a large mammal from his front yard.'

Neal looked at her and frowned, not impressed with her reasoning.

'Who else would do something like this?' he asked, irrational.

'Kids, pranksters… I don't know' Sara said, sitting next to him. 'One thing I can tell you for sure, it's _not_ Jeff Mason.'

'What's going on?' Hope asked as she came down, dressed and ready for school.

'Daddy's upset someone took his Rudolph' Sara explained, as if this kind of thing happened all the time.

'What?' Hope said as she looked out the front door to see for herself. 'Yup. He's definitely gone' she said with a nod as Neal shook his head and rolled his eyes.

'I better go check on Liam or else we're all going to be late' Sara said as she got to her feet and placed a kiss on the top of Neal's head.

'Be strong, Caffrey' she said, trying hard not to crack up.

Hope walked over and helped herself to the cereal that was lying on the table and reached into the fridge for some milk. 'Want some, Daddy?' she asked.

'I can't… I can't eat anything right now' Neal said, as if there had been a death in the family.

'Daddy, it's just a stupid reindeer' she commented, instantly regretting her words as Neal glared back at her.

'You're kidding, right?' he said, deadpan as she shrugged.

'Rudolph was the centrepiece of my display' he added with gravity.

'Right' Hope said, nodding. When had her dad gotten so damn weird?

Neal stood to go get ready for work. 'Do you need anything before I…' he asked pointing towards the stairs.

Hope just stared back at him in silence and shook her head; maybe she needed to show just a little more empathy. After all, the poor guy looked totally gutted.

'You go, Dad… go deal with your grief' she finally said with just the right touch of sincerity.

WCWCWC

'I'm telling you, Moz. I _know_ it's him' Neal said into the phone from his office.

'Well, there's only one way to find out' Mozzie replied on the other end.

'What? You want me to have him arrested on suspicion of theft with intent to… undermine a Christmas display' Neal said, deflated.

'No, I was thinking….'

'What?' Neal said, his mind going somewhere he never thought it would go. 'You're not suggesting…'

'What if I am?' Mozzie asked, testing the waters.

'But that would be… B and E' Neal murmured, the acronym slipping much too easily from his lips.

'Look, Neal, if he _did_ do this, he's probably got it stashed away in his basement somewhere. Not exactly something he can hide underneath a pillow' Mozzie reasoned.

'Yeah but… I suppose I _could_ go over, knock on the door and have a look around' Neal mused, thinking about the most 'legitimate' of the options at his disposal.

'Right' Mozzie said, voice dipping with sarcasm. 'Can I borrow a cup of sugar and by the way, do you mind if I go down and snoop in your basement to see if you kidnapped my reindeer.'

There was silence on the line as Neal digested what Mozzie had just said. Maybe he could take a little stroll up the street and nose around the Mason place, see what he could find out. He shook his head in disbelief; he couldn't be thinking straight if he was considering the possibility of forcing his way into a neighbour's home - and a friend to boot.

'I'll call you later, Moz. I need to think this through' Neal said, hanging up and staring off into space.

Grief could lead you to do some pretty crazy things.

WCWCWC

'Is that what you're wearing?' Sara asked when Neal came downstairs on Friday night, dressed in black.

'Yeah, why?' Neal asked, smoothing his turtleneck.

'You look like you're going on a heist instead of out for a drink' she commented, matter of factly.

Neal froze at her words; Sara knew him pretty well and for a minute there, he wondered if she'd managed to peer deep into his soul - his black, heartless, thieving soul.

'No, we're just going to a… bar. Near Mozzie's place.'

'Mozzie's place?' she repeated. 'Which one of his 'places'?'

'Why all the questions?' Neal asked, moving in to kiss his wife in an attempt at deflection.

Ah, trusting Sara… the poor unsuspecting woman fell for the ploy. After all, it wouldn't, in a million years, have occurred to her that Neal and Mozzie were planning to sneak into one of their neighbours' homes on a doomed search for a missing set of antlers.

'Well, I'm glad you're getting out' she said, lacing her arms around his neck and returning his kiss. 'You've been way too obsessed with this stupid contest. It's nice that you're getting out of the house and doing something else for a change.'

Neal smiled, hoping his imminent deception wasn't stamped on his forehead for his wife to see.

'I won't be late' he said, eager to get away from her prying eyes.

'Caffrey?' she called out as he walked away. 'I love you!'

Shit! That's all he needed. If things went sideways, she might be telling him that through bars by the end of the night.

'Love you too' he mumbled, turning away to keep from seeing the look of pure trust and innocence in his wife's eyes.

WCWCWC

Mozzie was waiting in his van a few houses past the Masons' place and Neal slipped into the passenger seat, just like old times.

'What the… Moz, what the hell are you doing?'

'So sue me' Mozzie replied, holding up a plate of pasta and shrimp. 'I didn't have time to eat. You want some?'

'No, I don't want any!' Neal replied snarkily.

'Look, don't take your bad mood out on me' the older man complained. 'I'm not the one who skulked around your house and stole your prized reindeer.'

'Sorry Moz' Neal said, trying to remain calm. 'I'm just not… entirely comfortable with what we're doing here.'

'So, what's the plan?' Mozzie asked, his mouth full.

'I just need you to be my lookout while I try to get a peek in their basement window' Neal explained as patiently as he could manage.

'What if they come home?' Mozzie asked, reaching for an open bottle of Merlot and topping up his half-full crystal wineglass.

Neal rolled his eyes at the sight of his friend, acting like this was a four star restaurant and not his decrepit old van.

'They won't. Donna was bragging to Sara that they got tickets for that big Christmas concert at Rockefeller Centre. They won't be back until midnight.'

Mozzie kept eating as if they had all the time in the world.

'Don't let me interrupt your dinner' Neal said facetiously as he sighed loudly. He was a pack of nerves and really out of practice when it came to snooping around people's houses.

'What? You ready to go _now_?' Mozzie asked, frowning.

'No, Moz, I was thinking I'd wait 'til _next_ Thursday. Of course, now!' Neal replied with a tone of impatience.

'Jeesh' Mozzie moaned. 'Remind me not to do you any more favours. You'd think this is the first time you've ever broken in somewhere.'

'I'm not _breaking_ in, Moz. Just _peeking_ in and… well, I haven't done anything like this in… a really long time' Neal said as he pulled on his gloves and reached for the flashlight in his back pocket.

'You're a pro' Mozzie reminded him. 'You'll see, it's like riding a bike…'

WCWCWC

In hindsight, Mozzie should have seen the police cruiser coming up the street long before he actually did. But there was a nasty blind spot just around the corner from the Masons' place and by the time he called out to warn Neal, there was already a flashlight shining in his eyes and a uniformed police officer breathing down his neck.

'Sir' the officer said as Mozzie began to panic.

'I found another one lurking around the back' came another officer's voice as he appeared dragging a very shocked looking Neal.

'Officer, I can explain' Neal attempted as he was pulled out of the dark shadows looking much too much like a cat burglar.

'I'm sure you can' the man said as if he'd heard it a thousand times before. 'And you can tell us all about it… down at the station.'

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

It was a hop, skip and a jump to the White Plains police station. Neal sat alone in the back seat of the police cruiser, reliving the events of the past hour and debating who he should call when they finally got there. Peter wouldn't be terribly sympathetic to his predicament but in light of the circumstances, calling his best friend was definitely the lesser of two evils. After all, Neal had grown accustomed to being chewed out by Peter over the years and as unpleasant an experience as it was, it was infinitely better than the anger and disappointment he was bound to see on his wife's face when she finally got wind of what he'd done. Sara would be livid about his ill advised antics; anything he could do to put off the inevitable tongue lashing was definitely the way to go.

It was a blessing in disguise that Mozzie had been released at the scene of the crime, considering he hadn't been doing anything but lurking on a nearby street corner when the police had come upon him. Mozzie didn't do well with confinement of _any_ kind and frankly, Neal preferred to deal with his most unfortunate situation without having to put up with his buddy whining and moaning ad nauseam in the background. His last words to Moz were a desperate plea NOT to tell Sara what had transpired until he had the chance to break the news to his wife himself.

Sadly, it wasn't the first time Neal had been dragged into a police station but it had been an awfully long time since his last transgression — and something he would have gladly gone to his grave not having had to experience again. It became apparent from listening to the two officers, chatting in the front seat, that a neighbour had called the police upon seeing some unusual activity in the vicinity of the Mason home. The irony wasn't lost on Neal — considering his involvement in the Prospect Park neighbourhood watch program and his constant reminders to his neighbours that everyone needed to be vigilant and have a keen eye for any untoward activity in their quiet little community.

As the cruiser pulled up to the local police station, Neal looked out at the soft gentle snow falling outside - this was indeed a very auspicious beginning to the holiday season.

WCWCWC

Liam curled up next to his sister on her bed as she read him a bedtime story while, a few feet away, Sara finished cleaning up after the nightly baths. She could hear the soft murmur of Hope's voice as she read a Christmas story from her extensive collection of books, something she'd always enjoyed doing for her baby brother.

Sara froze as she heard her son, his high pitched voice echoing through the upstairs of the house.

'Hope, how come you don't believe in Santa Claus?' she heard him ask as she held her breath.

There was a slight hesitation before Hope responded. 'Who says I don't believe in Santa Claus?'

'You always make faces and stuff when we talk about him' he said.

So much for thinking of Liam as clueless; he might be quiet and discreet but stupid, he definitely was _not_!

'No, I don't. It's just that Santa is more for little kids than big kids like me' Hope explained.

'But he still brings presents to everybody… even you' Liam reminded her.

Sara tiptoed out of the bathroom and hovered just outside Hope's bedroom, shamelessly eavesdropping on the conversation.

'I guess he brings presents to everyone who believes in him' Hope said in a very crafty attempt at deflection - now, _that_ gene she _definitely_ had inherited.

'So that means _you_ believe too!' Liam exclaimed as Sara heard the ruffling of the book's pages.

'Let's keep reading, okay?' Hope suggested. 'It's your bedtime soon.'

Sara peeked into the room, seeing her daughter with her arm around the little boy, her eyes glued to the book as she read to him. Her heart swelled with pride at the sight of the two of them, huddled together under the warm blankets.

Apparently, there was nothing to worry about; it seemed the spirit of Christmas was alive and well, after all.

WCWCWC

Peter arrived at the local precinct to find Neal sitting in the waiting room, staring down at his feet and looking like he was waiting to be let in to the principal's office.

'Neal! What the hell happened?' the older man asked as he ambled in, his voice angry.

Neal looked up, his face tense as if he was just now realizing how foolish he'd been — not only for endeavouring to spy on his neighbour but for thinking Jeff Mason was responsible for the theft of his precious reindeer in the first place. Since arriving at the police station, Neal had learned that there had been a number of thefts reported on their street over the past few days - all related to Christmas decorations put out on his neighbours' lawns. Everything pointed to pranksters who'd been having a field day running around the neighbourhood, creating chaos and stealing a number of items from homes up and down the length of Meadowbrook Street.

Neal opened his mouth to speak, closing it again as he realized there were no words to logically explain his behaviour - so impulsive and careless, without a single thought for the consequences of his actions.

'I… I got it in my head that Jeff Mason had taken some of my decorations and I… I was just peeking into his basement to see if —'

Peter rolled his eyes and Neal immediately stopped talking.

'You're telling me this is about a stupid Christmas decoration?' Peter asked, incredulous.

Neal prepared to argue that it wasn't just _any_ Christmas decoration but rather, his beloved Rudolph when he thought better of it and decided to just nod silently.

'Neal, you're going to be the death of me' Peter muttered. 'Are they charging you with anything?'

Neal looked away, embarrassed. 'Apparently, Jeff is on his way here to help clear this up' he muttered.

'Great!' Peter said sarcastically. 'What if he decides to press charges?'

The thought had crossed Neal's mind but he'd been hoping to have the opportunity to put his silver tongue to work and find a way to explain to Jeff what had possessed him to act in such a reckless fashion.

'I'm… I'm hoping it won't come to that' he murmured, his voice quiet.

Peter let out a loud sigh and shook his head in disbelief. There were no words to convey his frustration and disappointment in his best friend, especially over something as innocuous as a Christmas decoration.

'You'd _better_ hope…' Peter mumbled under his breath — and somehow, it sounded like a threat.

He took a seat next to Neal and prepared to wait and see what would transpire; he had dared to believe Neal's foolhardy days were finally behind him but apparently, there was still some scoundrel lingering underneath the surface - especially if someone dared to mess with Neal's beloved holiday display.

Within minutes, Jeff Mason arrived and Neal watched as the man walked up to the information desk, still oblivious to Neal's involvement in what the police were calling an aborted break and enter.

Neal could tell the moment Jeff was informed of the identity of the would-be burglar. He watched as Jeff turned to look in his direction, shocked to find his friend and neighbour sitting there. Neal gave him a small wave and took a deep breath as Jeff walked towards him, accompanied by one of the arresting officers.

'You're sure you can vouch for this man?' the officer asked as they came closer.

'Yeah, yeah, Neal is with our neighbourhood watch program' Jeff said, to both Neal and Peter's astonishment.

Whatever the reason - and frankly Neal was just too relieved to care - Jeff was vouching for him, without knowing the exact circumstances of what had brought them all out to the police station late on a Friday night.

The officer sighed, a combination of frustration and annoyance at having had to haul Neal in for what now appeared to be a false alarm.

'I suppose you're free to go' he concluded as Peter watched in wonder.

Once again, Neal appeared to have a horseshoe stuck up his ass, as Jones had commented on more than one occasion, and it looked like he was going to walk away unscathed from a very sticky situation - again! Only Neal… Peter thought as he studied his best friend, noticing the look of relief in his eyes.

'Just… don't go lurking around your neighbourhood like that if you don't want to be mistaken for a cat burglar' the officer cautioned as the would-be thief nodded and thanked him.

The person he _really_ needed to thank was Jeff Mason who, at the moment, seemed like the much bigger man.

WCWCWC

'I heard you talking to Liam earlier' Sara said as she sat on the edge of the bed in Hope's room.

Hope smiled up at her mom.

'What you said… well, it was very sweet. What made you change your mind?' Sara asked.

'I just remembered what it was like when I was Liam's age. I really wanted to keep believing in Santa even though I was pretty sure it was impossible for one person to fly around the world leaving presents for everyone through their chimney' she said, the words tumbling out.

'I remember Daddy and I were out shopping and we were standing at the cash register and I asked him if Santa really existed.'

Sara listened, a gentle smile on her face. 'What did Daddy answer?'

'He asked me what _I_ thought' Hope said. 'I guess he picked up that I wasn't really ready to stop believing yet.'

Sara slid up on the bed, settling in against the headboard and putting her arm around her wise ten-year-old daughter, pulling her closer.

'I figured it out eventually but it was nice that Daddy didn't just blurt out the truth. It let me keep believing a little while longer' Hope said, resting her head against her mom's chest as Sara ran her hand through her daughter's hair.

'Mom, remember that night we saw Santa in the living room?'

Sara chuckled as she recalled the night Peter had agreed to don the red suit in order to surprise his goddaughter after she'd gotten it into her head that something terrible had happened to Santa and that he wouldn't be coming for Christmas.

'Yeah' Sara said with a smile. 'You had stars in your eyes and Daddy and I were so afraid you were going to recognize Uncle Peter under that god-awful fake beard.'

'Why don't we do that for Liam? That way he can keep believing a little while longer' Hope suggested.

'I think that's a great idea, honey' Sara said as she brought her lips to kiss her daughter's forehead. 'Let's talk to Daddy about it when he gets home.'

'Mom…' Hope said, her voice quiet. 'It's kinda too bad Santa doesn't _really_ exist.'

Sara hugged her daughter tightly. 'Maybe he does, honey… maybe he does.'

WCWCWC

The men walked out of the police station, the snow still falling gently around them. Neal thanked Peter for his help and watched as he walked across the parking lot and got into his car. He stood next to Jeff Mason, both of them uncomfortable about what had just transpired.

'Look, Jeff. I'm really sorry. I don't know what came over me' Neal began, looking down at the ground in uncharacteristic embarrassment. 'I guess I just… I wasn't thinking straight.'

His eyes came up to look at his friend and neighbour, surprised to see unease in his eyes instead of the anger and disappointment he'd expected to see.

'It's okay, Neal…' Jeff began, obviously uncomfortable himself. 'Don't worry about it. We all get a little crazy around this time of year. I've been wondering myself if someone might be sabotaging me so… I get it.'

The men stood awkwardly under the gently falling snow.

'Well, I guess I better get back. Sara's going to be wondering where I am' Neal said as he took a few tentative steps towards… he suddenly remembered he had no means of transportation.

Jeff immediately figured out the problem, speaking up without hesitation. 'I'm parked right over here. Come on, I'll give you a ride home.'

It was bad enough to have to keep this agonizing conversation going for the awkward parting of the ways, now Neal was faced with spending even more time with Jeff at a time when the man should be thoroughly pissed off at him. Short of calling a cab, getting in the car with Jeff seemed like the best option if he wanted to make it home in a timely manner.

To the relief of both men, the drive back to their neighbourhood was brief and the men managed to avoid discussing the contest, focussing instead on the play the girls would be starring in the following week and how Hope and Olivia had been so supportive of each other - the irony of their daughters' situation not escaping either of the men.

Neal thanked Jeff and stepped out of the car, taking the few steps towards the house as he looked up at his holiday display - looking significantly less festive in light of the situation. The lights in the house were on which meant Sara was still up.

Neal took a deep breath and opened the front door, preparing to face his judge and jury.

WCWCWC

It was Saturday morning and Neal was up at the crack of dawn, eager to get on the road with Mozzie so he could get back in plenty of time for Liam's visit with Santa - a promise he was determined to keep.

Sara was still giving him the cold shoulder - not surprisingly after his confession the night before. At least, she hadn't made him sleep on the couch; she'd just turned her back to him in their bed and pouted while Neal lay there ruminating about what had happened and wondering how his judgement could have become so clouded. She would thaw - eventually - but the truth was he _deserved_ every icy stare he was getting for being so stupid as to go lurking around his neighbour's house in search of stolen goods.

He sat across from Liam who was busy dipping toast soldiers into the yolk of his soft boiled egg, looking like he'd lost his best friend.

'Why can't I come with you, Daddy?' the little boy asked.

'Liam, I'm just going to go pick up some things with Uncle Mozzie. It's a long drive and you'd get bored…' Neal explained.

'No, I wouldn't' Liam argued. 'I could help you put things in the truck.'

Neal studied Liam's face, the little guy looking up at him with those huge green eyes of his, drooping somewhat as tears threatened to form.

'I really want to go, Daddy' he whined, appealing to Neal's sense of guilt and his desire to do whatever it took to make his kids happy.

Neal sighed; although he feared Liam might find the drive tedious, he was certainly on board if it made the little guy happy. He checked his watch and looked at his son once more.

'Do you think you can be dressed and ready to go in ten minutes?' he asked as Liam's face brightened and he jumped to his feet.

'Yay!' he shouted, jumping up and down.

'All right, go! Hurry up, Uncle Mozzie will be here any minute' Neal said, pleased with his impulsive decision to give in.

Maybe it would help smooth things over with Sara if he took Liam out for a couple of hours; she could finally do that last minute shopping she'd been talking about - or anything else her little heart desired. Sara appeared at the bottom of the stairs just as Liam brushed past her, hopping along happily.

'What's going on?' Sara asked as Liam shrieked and continued on his way.

'I thought I'd take him with me and Mozzie to pick up that Christmas stuff' Neal replied as he got to his feet and began clearing the table.

Sara remained quiet, walking past him and grabbing for a cup of coffee; it looked like he was going to have to work a little harder than that.

'That way, you can have a little bit of down time…' he added, trying to gain favour with the woman who was obviously still furious with him.

She nodded but didn't say anything, instead reaching into the fridge for some cream for her coffee. Neal sidled up to her tentatively and smiled brightly only to have her stare back at him, unimpressed.

'Too soon?' he asked playfully as she glared back at him, her face stern.

'Okay then' he added, stepping away. 'Maybe later…'

Sara just gave him a deathly stare - if looks could kill.

'The Santa thing starts at two' she reminded him as he nodded knowingly.

'I promise we'll be back in plenty of time' he declared with a bright smile. 'Don't you worry.'

There was a commotion at the front door and Mozzie appeared, immediately sensing the tension in the room. Considering what had happened the night before, he wasn't surprised by Sara's reaction but he gave her a smile hello, hoping for forgiveness for his part in the aborted misadventure.

'Don't bother' she groused as he turned to look at Neal, his eyes growing to the size of saucers.

Liam was heard tumbling down the stairs at high speed, his sweater on inside out and his hair disheveled but nonetheless, eager to get going on the road trip with his dad and his godfather.

'All right, get your boots on' Neal called out from the kitchen. 'Oh, and go to the bathroom before we leave!'

WCWCWC

By noon, Olivia and Hope had already been practicing for over an hour and they began to make noises about being hungry, something Sara attempted to remedy with some canned tomato soup and a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches.

The trio sat at the kitchen table, the girls giggling and having a great old time.

'You're both sounding great' Sara commented. 'Excited about the play?'

'Yeah!' Olivia enthused as she dipped her sandwich in her cup of soup and took a bite. 'We're both getting really good.'

'I heard' Sara agreed.

'Mom, Liv and I decided to help out at the community centre this afternoon. Mr. Mitchell is playing Santa and he was looking for a couple of elves so we're going to help out… you know, round up the kids, give out candy canes and stuff.'

Sara smiled at her daughter; for someone who'd been lukewarm about the whole Santa thing, she was really rising to the occasion.

'That sounds great, honey' Sara replied.

'And my mom and dad are helping out with the snacks so they'll meet us over there at two o'clock' Olivia added, her eyes bright with holiday cheer.

'Well, you two are a shining example of the spirit of Christmas. People could really learn from watching you' Sara added, not terribly discreet about Neal's escapade from the night before.

'They'll work it out, Mrs. Caffrey' Olivia said. 'Just like we did.'

Sara sighed, a mixture of discouragement and cock-eyed optimism.

WCWCWC

'Here buddy, you can carry this' Neal said as he handed Liam an oversized candy cane and pointed him towards Mozzie who was loading up the truck.

He watched Liam struggle with carrying the large object, obviously proud to be helping and feeling so grown up in the process. Liam had his own quiet way of discovering the world — so very different from his big sister. Sometimes, it seemed as if Liam was off in la-la land, oblivious to what was going on around him but Neal and Sara had learned that he was a very astute and bright little guy who picked up on everything around him, just like a sponge.

'You sure are strong!' Mozzie commented as he took the decoration from his godson and placed it in the back of the truck he'd secured for their little foray.

The little farmhouse just outside of Smithtown was holding an estate sale and thanks to Mozzie's keen eye and dogged research, Neal had happened upon a bounty of amazing Christmas stuff to add to his ever-growing collection.

He checked his watch as he and Mozzie loaded up the last of the goodies; it was time to make tracks if they were going to get back in time to see Santa at the White Plains Community Centre.

'That's the last of it' Neal declared as he lifted Liam up and set him in the front seat of the truck, tucked in between him and Mozzie.

'You excited about seeing Santa, buddy?' he asked as he strapped him in.

Liam nodded enthusiastically, his eyes growing wide. 'I'm going to ask him for a new firetruck' he announced.

'Great idea!' Mozzie said as he slipped in behind the wheel.

'And he's going to give me a candy cane' the boy added with the same level of enthusiasm.

'How do you know he's going to give you a candy cane?' Neal asked.

'Santa always gives candy canes' he replied without missing a beat.

Mozzie started the truck, the engine balking a little and Neal gave him a worried look.

'Vintage truck' Mozzie murmured as he pulled away.

WCWCWC

The level of activity was at an all-time high in the small community hall as children of all ages lined up to spend a few memorable moments with Santa. Families from all over the neighbourhood had dropped in for the event and for an opportunity to have their child's picture taken with the jolly old man.

'Wait until you see the girls in their elf costumes' Donna whispered to Sara as she sidled up next to her.

Sara looked over at her friend, wearing a Santa hat and brandishing a platter full of gingerbread men and shortbread cookies.

'They look so cute' she added, giggling.

'Where's Liam?' she asked, looking around.

'Neal took him out to pick up some stuff for the house decorating contest' Sara replied, glancing around the room. 'They should be here any minute.'

And when she spoke the words, she got an unexpected shiver and tried her best to shake it off.

WCWCWC

Neal paced by the side of the highway as they waited for the tow truck to arrive.

'They said it might take up to an hour' Mozzie said, hanging up the phone. 'There's only one garage in town and they're out on a call.'

'Great!' Neal said, as he hit the side of the truck with his open palm and pulled away in pain.

'Daddy…' Liam cried out from inside the truck.

'It's okay, buddy, it's okay. I'm just… a little frustrated' Neal explained, taking a cleansing breath.

'But I want to see Santa' Liam whined, becoming increasingly upset.

Neal glanced at his watch; it was already a few minutes past 2:00 and it was more than an hour back to White Plains. He was going to have to call Sara sooner or later to confess his latest escapade and he wasn't sure what was worse: her all too predictable reaction or Liam's increasing distress as it began to sink in that they were _not_ going to make it back in time for him to sit on Santa's knee.

'I've put it off long enough, I'm going to call Sara' Neal told Mozzie as he stepped away from the truck. She'd probably be shouting so loud, they would be able to hear her all the way to the next county.

He braced for her reaction and pressed speed dial.

WCWCWC

'Where's Neal? Wasn't he bringing Liam by to see Santa?' Donna Mason asked as she walked around the hall, offering cookies to big and small kids alike.

Sara checked her watch for the third time in the past five minutes; what had her crazy, impulsive husband done this time?

'I'll give him a few more minutes and I'll give him a call' Sara replied, glancing towards the entrance in anticipation of Neal and Liam's arrival.

Her husband was impetuous and didn't always think things through - as he'd demonstrated the night before but if there was one thing she knew about him, it was that he had a big heart and was totally devoted to their kids and their wellbeing. He would be there if he could and Sara began to worry something might have happened to keep them away. She had just decided to reach out to him when her phone rang in her hand and Neal's smiling face appeared on the screen, all smiles and looking oh so innocent.

'Neal! What the hell is going on? This thing is going to be over in another hour.'

'Yeah…' Neal said slowly and the sound of his voice told her everything she needed to know.

'Where are you?' she asked, the volume of her voice steadily increasing as she stepped away from the revelers and moved towards the lobby for more privacy. 'And you better say, you're just coming around the corner.'

'Honey, we've run into a little… snag' Neal said, choosing his words carefully.

'What kind of… snag?' Sara asked, unamused.

Why were things always so complicated when Neal Caffrey was involved? When he got sidetracked, he turned into an impulsive toddler, grabbing for the next shiny object that appeared before his eyes.

'Are you and Liam all right?' she asked, needing to get that out of the way before she let herself go full on ballistic.

'Yes…' Neal said hesitantly, knowing that would be enough to set off some fireworks.

She tried to breathe through her rage, measuring her words so as not to draw too much attention to herself as she stood within earshot of their friends and neighbours. Truth was, she had a long litany of words ready to throw out at him, words like selfish, impulsive, self-centred, egotistical, disorganized and a few other choice words she was valiantly trying to keep from screaming into the phone. Instead, she went with the most effective tactic as far as her husband was concerned: guilt.

'You _knew_ how important this was for Liam, he's been asking to see Santa for weeks. But nooooo, you had to go out of town to get another….' she hesitated, looking for the right word '… shiny object for your goddamn collection instead of thinking about what your son wanted.'

Neal listened, his tail firmly between his legs.

He fought the urge to counter with some suggestions to resolve the dilemma: taking Liam to the mall to see department store Santa, buying him whatever he wanted to try to make up for the huge disappointment, begging his son for forgiveness.

But coming up with an alternative wasn't the point and he knew it: he'd broken a promise to his son and that could _not_ be fixed - not easily, anyway.

'I'm sorry' he muttered, fully aware that that could never be enough.

'Don't apologize to _me_!' she shouted into the phone. 'I'm the one who's with Santa right now.'

At any other time, that might have been funny but laughing at Sara's wry comment was the furthest thing from his mind. She let out a few choice expletives and Neal could tell she was going easy on him. The connection came to an abrupt end when Sara decided she'd yelled at him sufficiently and ended the call precipitously, leaving him standing there, shivering by the side of the road.

He returned to his vigil by the truck, noticing Mozzie comforting his godson in the cab of the truck. It was one big giant mess and once again, he was the only one to blame for the situation — all because he'd wanted to have his cake and eat it too.

Sara seethed, Neal agonized and a few feet away, Liam continued to sob, heartbroken.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Hope crouched down in front of the little boy and dangled a candy cane before his eyes.

'Would you like a candy cane?' she asked him as he clung to his mom's leg for dear life.

He gave an almost imperceptible nod and Hope held it a little closer as he looked up timidly at his mom.

'It's okay, Lamar' his mom said softly 'You can take it.'

The boy reached out and with the smallest of smiles, he took the candy cane from Hope's hand and pulled it in against his chest.

'You're such a big boy' Hope said. 'How old are you?'

The little guy held up three finger, still clutching his candy cane with his other hand.

'Wow! Three years old! Did you want to come and see Santa?'

If getting him to accept the candy cane had been difficult, trying to pry him away from his mom so he could go sit on Santa's knee seemed like an impossible feat.

'Honey, you were so excited about seeing Santa' his mom said patiently as she exchanged glances with Hope. 'See, it's your turn next.'

The little guy stared up at Hope, his huge brown eyes bulging with both trepidation and excitement and Hope looked up at Lamar's mom and smiled.

'Would you like it if I went up to see Santa with you?' she asked as he nodded, this time a little more decisively.

The mom gave Hope a grateful smile and little Lamar slowly released his grip on her and followed Hope over to where Santa sat, flanked by a couple of plastic reindeer.

'Thank you' the woman mouthed as Hope took his little hand and guided him closer.

Looking out for one younger than herself wasn't anything new for Hope Ellis-Caffrey. Five years was a fairly large age gap and ever since Liam had been a newborn, she'd been called upon to play the big sister role. She loved her baby brother to bits and she was always eager to help whether it was cutting up his food or helping him button up his coat. Granted, Liam could be annoying at times but there was something about having a little brother that had helped nurture feelings of competence and empathy in the young girl - although she had yet to label it as such.

She and little Lamar made their way to where Mr. Mitchell was ho-ho-ho-ing at the top of his lungs and Hope felt the little guy's hand tighten around hers as he looked up, eyes full of wonder.

'Can you sit on Santa's lap with me?' he asked softly - the first words he'd uttered since she'd first laid eyes on him.

Hope was taken by surprise by his request and took a moment to consider her options. She hadn't sat on Santa's lap for a couple of years now and her first instinct was to look around and make sure no one she knew was watching; she didn't want to be made fun of, that was for sure. The only classmates of hers she could see were Olivia who was busy at the other end of the hall, passing out candy canes and encouraging children to come and meet the big guy and… Stella Pruitt!

Stella Pruitt was a girl in Hope's class who thought she was all that. Her parents had named her for some character in a movie Hope had never heard of about a trolley or something but nobody in the class except for Stella seemed to care. To say that Stella was standoffish was putting it mildly; she always wore a look of disdain and acted above her station in life - a ten-year old with a superiority complex to match no other.

Hope glanced over at her classmate, noticing her scrutinizing her every move. If she climbed up on Santa's knee, Stella would no doubt make sure everyone in class knew about it and there was no doubt that she'd be teased mercilessly by the likes of Mona Jarvis and Petra Young - the only two girls who hung out with Stella and who were known collectively as the three amigas by the rest of the class (except for Olivia and Hope who referred to them as the mean girls).

Hope looked down at the little boy, his bright eyes shining as he waited eagerly for her response. She could feel his hand in hers, hesitant at best and she feared he might go running in the other direction, back to his mother's arms, if she didn't help him through this last hurdle.

She swallowed hard and looked towards the little guy's mom; she had a look of anguish on her face as she waited to see if he was going to have the courage to sit on the jolly old man's lap. Hope gave Stella Pruitt one last defiant look and spoke.

'Sure, I'll sit with you' she said as she helped Lamar up onto Santa's lap and climbed onto the other side.

'Ho-ho-ho!' Mr. Mitchell said. 'Who do we have here?'

Lamar sat in silence, the proverbial deer in the headlights.

'This is Lamar, Santa' Hope declared. 'He's three years old.'

'And what did you want Santa to bring you for Christmas, Lamar?' the jolly old man asked.

Again, there was silence and Hope leaned in as the little guy whispered in her ear; for some reason, she was a lot less intimidating than the guy in the red suit.

'Lamar would like some Lego' Hope repeated as the little boy smiled brightly and nodded.

'Lego!' Santa said with another jolly ho-ho-ho. 'That's a wonderful toy! And what about you, Hope?'

The question took her by surprise but there was only one thing she could think of asking for - the best gift of all, the magic of Christmas for Liam who still hadn't made an appearance.

'I would like my little brother to get a chance to meet you' she said without hesitation.

WCWCWC

Jeff Mason stood at the snack table, doling out small cups of juice to the excited children and their patient parents.

His mind was still reeling from the events of the previous night; not only because his friend and neighbour had revealed his distrust of him but because he, himself, was consumed with guilt. He felt like a fraud; at least, Neal had shown the courage to own up to what he'd done and he'd apologized for his lack of judgement. Jeff, on the other hand, had yet to confess that he'd been less than honest, snooping around the Caffrey house and spying on Neal's plans for the holiday decorating contest… even going so far as to 'borrowing' some of Neal's wonderful ideas.

He'd even stooped to asking Olivia if she'd seen anything of interest on her frequent visits to the Caffrey home - probably the worst of his crimes as it sullied his sacred relationship with his own daughter.

He glanced around the community hall, noticing Sara and Donna chatting - a rather intense conversation if truth be told and he watched with interest as his wife walked over to join him on her quest to replenish her platter with Christmas cookies.

'What's going on?' Jeff asked.

'Neal drove out of town to pick up some stuff with Liam and the truck they were using broke down on the highway.'

'What? But Neal said he was bringing Liam in to see Santa' Jeff said as he poured a glass of juice and placed it on the table alongside the others.

'He was… but now they're stuck waiting who knows how long for a tow truck to come. Sara's upset with Neal - he'd promised to get Liam here on time' Donna explained.

'Well, where are they, exactly?'

'I'm not sure, some little hick town east of here' Donna said, loading up her tray with shortbread.

'Why don't I go pick them up?' Jeff suggested. 'Maybe we can get back before this thing wraps up.'

'Sara says it's over an hour away. You'll never make it back in time' Donna commented.

'Well, at least they wont be stranded by the side of the road. It's cold out there and Liam's just a little guy.'

Donna studied her husband; he was always ready to do a good turn for friends and neighbours. It was one of the things she loved most about him.

'I suppose you could offer' she said as she beckoned Sara over.

WCWCWC

'Your boyfriend is looking at you' Stella Pruitt said to Hope with a tone that could only be described as malicious.

'Very funny!' Hope stated, deadpan, as she turned and gave little Lamar a quick wave.

'So, did you ask Santa for anything special' the spiteful girl asked, mocking her.

'You know what, Stella? That's between me and Santa and I wouldn't tell you if you were the last person on earth.'

'Awwww, isn't that cute' Stella continued, goading her. 'By the way, I love your little elf costume. Really cool - not!'

'Stella, why don't you try doing something nice for someone for a change' Hope said with newfound confidence. 'I need to get back to giving out these candy canes.'

The little girl stared back, at a loss for words, and watched the little elf-girl walk away. She huffed and turned on her heels, off to make trouble somewhere else.

WCWCWC

It turned out to be a good thing Neal had downloaded that GPS tracking app on his phone after all. He'd resisted doing it for a long time, telling Sara that it made him feel like he was still on a tracking anklet with the FBI. But in the end, both he and Sara had decided it could be a good feature to have in case of an emergency - which this was turning out to be.

Jeff Mason glanced down at the map on Sara's cell phone, getting closer and closer to his target location. He turned up the heat a little and wondered how Neal was doing, stuck out there as the snow continued to come down at a good clip. He was glad for this opportunity to help out his friend and neighbour; after all, he had a lot to atone for and it was becoming increasingly uncomfortable to wear the mantle of 'good guy' when he was feeling anything but.

He would feel a hell of a lot better when he finally came clean and told Neal he wasn't the great guy Caffrey seemed to think he was. He let out a sigh and concentrated on the road up ahead; another little while and he'd be able to get things off his chest.

WCWCWC

Neal shivered as he cradled Liam against his chest. After an hour without heat, they were starting to really feel the cold and he was thankful for the packing blankets he and Mozzie had discovered in the back of the truck. He looked down at his son who, thankfully, had fallen asleep - well, cried himself to sleep, actually, and he thanked God for small blessings.

Liam's sobbing had broken his heart, leaving him feeling like such a loser in the 'dad' department - not that he was responsible for the truck's mechanical failure in any way. But still, Sara was right. He was still trying to have his cake and eat it too — even after years of trying to learn the all important lesson that sometimes in life, you had to let go of something in order to have something you wanted more. He recalled Jones' words of wisdom, spoken one night, years ago when the two of them were about halfway through a bottle of fine scotch. He'd struggled his whole life with the notion but now that he had children, it was clear without a doubt that they were what was most important to him.

What he wanted more than anything was for his wife and his children to be safe and happy and in that moment, he would have given anything to see Liam's little face as he sat proudly on Santa's knee. Alas, that wasn't going to happen - at least not in the immediate future and Neal would have to live with the knowledge that he might have prevented all this drama if only he hadn't followed that shiny object all the way out to the boonies.

'You okay?' Mozzie asked as he glanced over at his friend.

'Yeah… at least he's asleep' Neal replied with a sigh.

'Neal, you couldn't have known the truck was going to break down' Mozzie said, seeing the guilt all over Neal's face. 'And I sure as hell wouldn't have dragged you out here if I'd known this was going to happen.'

'It's not your fault, Moz' Neal replied. 'Sara's right. This competitive streak of mine is keeping me from focussing on what's really important.'

He brought his mouth to rest on Liam's blond hair and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead.

'He's just a little guy… and this might be the last year we do the whole Santa thing. I've got to find a way to make it up to him… somehow.'

'Kids are resilient, Neal' Mozzie replied, sounding wise. 'Liam and Hope know how much they mean to you. One little slip-up isn't going to obliterate all those wonderful memories you've created for them over the years.'

Neal shrugged, unconvinced, and ran his hand up and down Liam's back, watching as the child let out a sleepy sigh.

'Remember that con we ran in Corsica?' Neal said, out of the blue.

Mozzie frowned and nodded, a smile coming to his lips.

'We were riding high back then, everything was going our way. We were living high off the hog, accountable to no one, living large beyond our wildest dreams…' Neal said, the memories flooding back.

'Where's all this coming from?' Mozzie asked.

'I was just… back then, I couldn't imagine life being any more exciting. I thought we had it all, unlimited wealth, freedom, excitement… I thought things couldn't get any better' Neal said, glancing over to his left.

'But now I realize… it was such an empty, meaningless life. When I held Hope in my arms for the first time, when Sara and I found out she was finally pregnant with Liam, when I hear one of the kids laughing or when I see the joy in Sara's eyes… those are the moments that mean the most to me. And that other stuff…well, it just pales in comparison.'

Mozzie looked over at his friend, shivering as he saw his face, joyful and at peace. He'd never been lucky enough to find what Neal had finally found but his best friend had been generous in continuing to share his life with him and he was thankful for the fact that he could live vicariously through Neal.

'I can't say I _totally_ get it' Moz said pensively. 'But I kinda do.'

Neal smiled and hugged Liam a little bit tighter.

WCWCWC

'So? Any news?' Sara asked.

'Jeff says he's almost there. He'll call when he finds them' Donna replied as the celebration wrapped up around them.

'I'm just so… so angry at Neal' Sara confided. 'Do you ever get mad at Jeff?'

Donna scoffed loudly. 'Are you kidding? All the time. He drives me crazy but the stuff that drives me nuts is often the stuff that's most endearing.'

Sara chuckled, relaxing and letting go of some of the anger and tension she'd been harbouring.

'I know what you mean. Neal is… spontaneous and impulsive and… well, it's always getting him into trouble. But it's what I love most about him because it's what makes him the passionate person he is and usually, it comes from a place of love' she said, surprising herself with the sentimental drool.

'Usually…' she repeated, under her breath. 'But sometimes, he still can't resist going after that one fleeting thing, you know. And when he does, he doesn't always realize he's putting something else at risk in order to get it.'

'This competition is batshit crazy, isn't it?' Donna said. 'It seems to bring out the worst in the two of them.'

Sara let out a sigh. 'Do you think we'll ever change them?'

'Would we want to?' Donna asked rhetorically.

WCWCWC

Liam slept peacefully in the back seat of the car, huddled under a blanket, the car's heater going full blast as Neal began to finally feel his feet again.

'Jeff, I really appreciate this' he said, still somewhat troubled by the events of the previous night.

'It's the least I can do…' Jeff replied self-consciously. 'Are you sure your friend will be okay?'

'Yeah, he's gonna stay behind to wait for the tow truck and bring everything back' Neal explained.

There was an awkward silence and he cleared his throat. 'I guess I can thank my wife for insisting I install that GPS app on my phone' he finally said, content to make small talk.

Jeff smiled and looked out at the road ahead. 'Neal… there's something I wanted to talk to you about' he began tentatively.

Neal looked over, puzzled. 'What is it?'

'I know you feel bad about what happened last night' Jeff began as Neal looked away, uncomfortable. 'But you're not the only one who's been sneaking around.'

Neal returned his gaze to the other man. 'The last time we were at your place for dinner' Jeff continued, rushing to speak before he lost his nerve. 'I noticed you had the plans for the decorating contest on your bed and I… well, I went in and snooped around.'

Things grew quiet in the car as Neal took in what he'd just heard.

'And what's worse…' Jeff continued. 'I even stole one of your ideas.'

'Those gingerbread men?' Neal asked - he'd been wondering about that.

'Yeah…' Jeff admitted with a scoff. 'They were a great idea.'

Neal laughed and the tension seemed to instantly drop a notch.

'I grew up with an older brother who could do no wrong' Jeff confided as Neal leaned in to listen. 'He was always better than me at school, at sports… at pretty well everything he did. Everybody would always say 'you're Todd Mason's kid brother, right?' and I would cringe. And after a while, it became really important that I be better than him at something.'

Neal listened, intrigued, as Jeff continued with his impromptu confession. 'So, I started to cheat whenever we played cards or board games… I was always looking to be better than him.'

Neal had never had siblings but he knew what it was like to feel the need to be 'right', to be the best at everything, the smartest, the craftiest, the sneakiest, to be admired and envied by others. The need to be better than everyone else had taken him down some pretty dark roads throughout his life and he still struggled with it… even to this day, by all appearances.

'I guess we're just a couple of insecure guys' Neal joked as Jeff chuckled, the tension finally evaporating between them.

'I'm sorry, Neal. You really are a very creative guy and your displays are always really inventive and original.'

Neal shrugged at the compliment, secretly pleased.

Liam stirred in the back seat and let out a soft moan, repositioning and returning to his deep slumber.

'Little guy's all tuckered out, huh?' Jeff commented.

'Poor kid, he cried himself to sleep' Neal replied, guilt resurfacing momentarily. 'I've got a lot to make up for; he was so excited about seeing Santa today and now, it's too late.'

Jeff looked over at Neal and his face brightened. 'Hey, I've got an idea. Maybe I can help you out with that.'

WCWCWC

The total snow accumulation was upwards of ten inches and once they finally got home, Neal headed outside to shovel out the driveway, leaving Sara to tend to some of the other domestic chores.

'Mom, no offence…' Hope moaned as she watched Sara cream some butter and sugar together. 'Your cookies are… good but…'

Sara thought back to her last attempt at baking: some ill-fated brownies which had cost them dearly in dentist fees when Neal had lost a filling on his very first bite.

'Honey, I'm sorry but Daddy's going to be tired from shovelling, you're just going to have to put up with me making the shortbread for your class this time.'

Hope frowned, unimpressed.

'But I _am_ using Daddy's recipe, see?' Sara added, holding up the little recipe card on which Neal had transcribed the step by step instructions.

Hope let out a disappointed sigh and turned to look at her brother who was playing in the nearby family room.

'Come on Liam, let's go upstairs and I'll read you a Christmas story' she said, giving up on convincing her mom to cease and desist with the cookies and taking a sad-looking Liam by the hand.

Sara persevered, cursing under her breath; isn't this why they had that bakery down the street? She heard the front door open and wiped the hair from her eyes, her hands covered in flour.

'Hey!' she called out as she heard Neal taking off his coat in the front hall.

'Mozzie just called' she continued. 'He said the tow truck finally came and he's going to drop that stuff off in the morning.'

Neal appeared, looking really hot in a plaid red shirt, his eyes sparkling with mischief as he took in the mess all around her.

'So, how are you making out with those cookies?' he asked with an eyebrow wag.

Sara's sweater was covered in flour and there was a splatter of dough in her hair which he reached out to remove, amused as always at her lack of proficiency in the culinary arts.

'Looks like you could use some help' he murmured softly moving in to stand behind her and bringing his arms to rest snugly around her waist.

She turned to face him, finally beginning to thaw following his little escapade from the night before.

'I guess...' she murmured, playfully bringing her hands up to cup his cheeks and kissing him soundly, delighting in the mess she was creating.

Neal reacted with a groan at the sensation of her hands covered in flour, caressing his cheeks.

He let out a forced chuckle at her good-natured yet messy assault on his face.

'Cute, Repo, cute. That's assault with a deadly… shortbread' he moaned as he lifted her off the ground and placed her on the kitchen counter to face him, stealthily moving in to position himself between her legs.

She looked at his face, covered in flour and she giggled, bringing her lips back to his as she felt her husband warm to her touch.

'Am I forgiven?' he asked with a sigh.

'I'm not the one you should be begging for forgiveness' she reminded him, arms around his neck.

'About that…' Neal murmured. 'I've got an idea.'

WCWCWC

Liam hadn't been a regular napper for going on a couple of years but he'd had a long snooze in the car on the way back from their little adventure and when 9:00 rolled around, he was still wide awake, albeit still hugely disappointed about missing out on his afternoon visit with Santa.

Neal sat on the bed next to his son, reading him a bedtime story and eagerly waiting for the little charade to commence.

'Daddy?' Hope called out from the doorway to Liam's room. 'I hear some noise downstairs.'

'It's probably just your mom' Neal replied, as scripted.

'No, she's taking a bath' Hope countered with a worried look, putting all her newly developed acting skills to good use.

Neal stood, feigning concern and Liam followed him out into the hallway, curious as to what was going on.

'Hello?' he called out from the top of the stairs as Liam and Hope hovered behind him.

'What's going on?' Sara asked as she appeared behind them, wrapped in a robe.

'Hope heard some noise downstairs' Neal said, winking at his wife.

'HO HO HO!' they heard from downstairs as Liam let out a loud gasp.

'It's Santa!' he called out, pushing everyone aside as he rushed down the steps towards the sounds of bells jingling.

'Santa! Santa! I'm here!' he shouted excitedly as he came running down the stairs.

The jolly man stood in the middle of the living room by the Christmas tree, all decked out in his fur-trimmed suit, holding a candy cane in his hands.

Liam slowed as he came into view, his eyes lit up with excitement. Neal, Sara and Hope followed down the stairs, watching as Liam took a few steps closer to the man.

'Santa! What are you doing here?' he asked, a look of wonder on his face.

'Ho, ho, ho' the jolly old man replied. 'I was visiting at the community centre today and before I left to return to the North Pole, I thought to myself: I haven't seen Liam Caffrey yet.'

'I was stuck in a snow storm' Liam announced as he got nearer, his eyes bright with anticipation.

He watched as the man took a seat in the armchair by the tree and opened his arms to Liam who came to him without needing any coaxing at all as his parents and sister watched from nearby.

'I heard you had a little adventure and I didn't want to leave before you tell me what you want for Christmas. It's only a few days away, you know.'

Liam nodded, words failing him as he climbed up on the man's lap, his eyes all aglow.

'I want a firetruck' he said, without hesitation as Hope and Neal exchanged smiles.

He thought for a moment before adding. 'And could I have a telescope?'

'A telescope?' the old man repeated as he looked up at Neal who gave him a nod. 'Of course you can have a telescope. I'm glad you're interested in learning about the stars and the moon. You know, I can see all the stars from up in the North Pole.'

'I know all about Orion and Canis Minor and Cent… Cent…' Liam said breathlessly.

'Centaurus?' Santa asked as Liam nodded. 'That's my favourite one.'

Liam smiled back, unable to hide his glee. He suddenly noticed his parents and Hope standing there.

'Hope, do you want to ask Santa for something' the boy asked, eager to share his good fortune.

'That's okay, Liam. I saw him earlier at the community centre' she said as Santa nodded. 'And I've already gotten what I wanted.'

Neal and Sara looked at each other with pride as Santa got to his feet.

'Well, I have to get going if I'm going to be ready for Christmas Eve. Here you go' he added, handing Liam the candy cane. 'I saved this one just for you, Liam.'

Liam looked up at his dad and beamed. 'I told you he'd give me a candy cane' he said as Neal smiled back at his son.

'Yes, you did, buddy' he replied with a sigh of contentment.

And just like that, the old man disappeared into the night and Liam Caffrey went from sadness and despair to being the happiest little guy who'd ever lived.

WCWCWC

'You did good, Caffrey' Sara said as they prepared for bed later that night.

'Well, I had a lot to make up for' he said with a loud sigh, slipping under the covers.

Sara sat on the edge of the bed facing him. 'I'm not going to pretend I'm thrilled with what you did last night but… well, you more than made up for it with Liam. He was thrilled.'

Neal smiled as he thought of the look on his son's face, joy bursting from every pore of his body.

He took Sara's hand in his. 'I'm sorry if I come up short sometimes' he said simply, without embellishments or excuses.

'Neal… I love you even when you're off doing crazy things' she said. 'But I'd really rather not have to tell you that looking through prison bars.'

'Point taken' he replied, kissing her hand and drawing her into bed.

They curled up against each other, the house finally quiet after a busy day.

'I thought I'd give Jeff a hand tomorrow morning, getting the last of his things up before the final judging' Neal said.

Sara looked up at him, her eyes narrowing. 'Have you two made up?' she asked.

'Let's just say that… well, we understand each other a little bit better.'

'I guess a little healthy competition isn't a bad thing' Sara reflected. 'As long as you try to keep things in perspective.'

'I promise… I'll try' he said, the best he could do without being downright disingenuous.

There would always be some level of competitiveness between the two men but as long as there was mutual respect, they would find a way to work things out.

'I guess we'll find out who wins at the block party tomorrow night' Neal said with apprehension.

Sara smiled; she, Donna and the other wives couldn't wait to have this competition over with so they could get their husbands back, behaving like normal human beings once more.

'Well, one thing's for sure. You really gave it all you had, Caffrey' Sara said, placing a kiss on her husband's cheek.

Neal let out a sigh; there was very little left to do at this point. It was all in the judges' hands.

WCWCWC

The girls had drawn straws to see which of the two performances they would be starring in and on the afternoon of the big day, Hope prepared for her first starring role in front of all the school's students. Liam sat with the rest of the kindergarteners, poised to deliver their rather ho-hum rendition of 'Silent Night' and he brightened at the sight of his parents, walking into the gymnasium.

'Can I go sit with my parents?' he asked Miss Creighton, the pretty teacher who always smelled like cinnamon.

'Sure. Just stay where I can see you' she replied as she sent him on his way.

He ran into his mother's arms and settled in between his parents to watch the first part of the show.

'Mind if we join you?' Neal heard as he looked over to find Jeff and Donna Mason standing there.

'What are you guys doing here? I thought you were only coming to tonight's performance' Neal said, moving over a few seats to make room for the newcomers.

'We didn't want to miss Hope's performance' Donna said, settling in next to Sara.

The men chatted while they waited for the show to begin, bemoaning the fact that they had both been passed over for the coveted prize and wondering how the boring display at Fred Zimmer's place had managed to capture the judges' attention. Fred had opted for a trio of lit trees and a wreath motif throughout and both Neal and Jeff agreed it was much too traditional to merit first place.

'I still can't believe they didn't pick yours' Neal commented, good-naturedly. 'Your use of colour was inspired.'

'And your elf display was so creative' Jeff added, still licking his wounds.

The men looked over at Liam who was sitting up expectantly, waiting for his sister's debut.

'I heard you had a visitor at your house the other night' Jeff Mason said, addressing the little guy.

Liam's eyes lit up. 'Santa came to my house! And he gave me a candy cane.'

Jeff and Neal exchanged knowing glances. 'Oh, yeah? That's great!'

Neal winked at his friend and neighbour, thankful for his help in making his son's dream come true.

He wasn't quite certain how or when it had happened, but it dawned on Neal that his children's wishes and dreams had now become his own.

La fin


End file.
